Tag: Holy Land

The 30,000 members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem fund about 80 percent of the annual budget of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, ensuring that Catholic parishes and seminaries, schools and hospitals in Israel, Palestine and Jordan continue to function, said U.S. Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien.

The current Edicule of the Tomb was built by the Greek Orthodox community in 1810, two years after a devastating fire. It has been encased in metal scaffolding since the British Mandate period in the mid-20th century because of concern for its stability.

You know how you sometimes buy a $100 raffle ticket for a chance to win a trip to the Holy Land, and then regret the purchase because for that kind of money, you ought to be walking away with groceries in your hands? But then you realize the money is going for a good cause — the parish — so then you forgive yourself, and then you forget about it, but then you win?